OK Mozart Festival Kicks Off

More than Mozart, that's the idea as Bartlesville kicks off its 24th annual OK Mozart festival. The News On 6's Steve Berg reports they've always had first-class classical music at the event, now they're jazzing it up a bit and rocking it and dancing it.           

Mike and Barbara Eaton say they've been going to OK Mozart from the beginning.

"With the quality of entertainment you have, you can't go anywhere else in this region and see the kind of people that you see here," said Barbara Eaton.

Or the kinds of acts.

"This year we have kind of launched a new look, a new image, a new structure for the festival," said Scott Black.

Black is the new director of OK Mozart, which has a new brand, OKM.

"Because people hear the word Mozart and they think that's all we do, we sit around in powdered wigs and play classical music," said Black.

If Mozart is your hero, don't worry, they still have plenty of him and other classical music at OK Mozart, but they wanted to add a little more variety this year.

"When they hear that we're bringing Branford Marsalis, one of the world's greatest jazz musicians performing this day, Ben Vereen, star of Broadway, film, TV, New York Theater ballet, they're going to realize that it's more than just Mozart," said Black.

"We do a lot of classical music, that's our primary focus, but we have all kinds of other things taking place," said Black.

OK Mozart has developed a worldwide reputation and draws not just performers but patrons from all over.

Janice Jones is from Oklahoma and now lives in California, where she set straight their short-sightedness.

"They say where are you going and what are you going to do and they have concerts there and I say, yes they do," said Jones.

"We do have a reputation out there we're very proud of.  People know of us because we do have an excellent facility here, the Bartlesville Community Center has been claimed one of the finest concert halls in the world, and so word gets around in the performing arts community," said Black.

The festival runs all week long.